


Witchcraft in Your Lips

by spacebuns12



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Badass Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Magic, Protective Kylo Ren, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug, Romance, Slow Burn, Spells & Enchantments, Violence, frenemies to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2019-08-25 19:54:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16667263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacebuns12/pseuds/spacebuns12
Summary: Rey is a normal apprentice of witchcraft (thank you very much!), trying to balance her mortal obligations, such as college and part-time job in a coffee shop, and magic lessons. But nothing is so simple, right?When a blood moon is set to appear on Halloween, unusual things start to happen. She'll have to deal with an increasingly real nightmare and be forced to accept the help of whoever is willing to... Even if that means being tutored by the annoying and disturbingly attractive Ben Solo, the frequent coffee shop customer that happens to be a really powerful wizard.





	1. Bad Moon Rising

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, everyone! 
> 
> This is the first time I have the guts to post a fanfic, so hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing (yeah, I'm one of those people who write and laughs/get excited at the own jokes and plot)!
> 
> Please comment (I reply!) and give me feedbacks (open to suggestions, questions, etc)! Also, please subscribe and give kudos if you're enjoying to feed me with energy to write more and faster!! It makes a LOT of difference, really!
> 
> Biggest thanks to the dear and fabulous @Gaia_707 and @RavenSnowStar94, my extremely patient betas and super especial friends, who are helping me a lot! You're awesome!

****The girl was breathless and, still, continued to run. She didn’t know where to go, but something was after her and it wasn't good news. Her feet made their way through the leaves, deeper into the dark forest. Besides her unsteady breath and running sounds, the place was dead quiet.

Maybe… Maybe she outran whatever was hunting her? It seemed too good to be true, but when a large tree trunk lying on the floor caught her eye, she ducked behind it. It was risky, but she wasn't going to last much longer without a rest.

One of her hands covered her mouth as the other braced her knees. The girl was beyond disheveled: the tree buns that once were tying her hair, now were a messy lump of sweat, leaves and dirt. Actually, she was entirely a complete mess: knees and hands were scratched and a few bleedings spots spread through her body and face. She trembled as she listened, expecting something, _anything_.

Nothing.

After a few minutes - that seemed like an eternity - her breath started to ease as the feeling of safety creeped in. She closed her eyes and let out a relieved sigh. When she opened them, a figure covered in black was standing right in front of her.

She raised her head and gasped. The dark silhouette was just a few steps away and she felt his gaze burning on her skin. Even though the moonlight  didn’t help that much, she was positive it was a man. He was tall and visibly strong - a thought that made her shudder.

He walked slowly towards her and kneeled, until they were apart by only inches. His face was covered by a hood. When he stretched his hand to her temple, pain came and, before she realized, tears were streaming down her face. It was like an iron hand was squishing her brain, searching and reviving every memory, every feeling, _everything_.

She didn’t know exactly how it happened. One minute, he was kneeled before her, torturing her in the most painful way she could ever imagine. The next, he was a few feet distant, lying on the floor, and she was standing up and running away again. As her heart pounded painfully against her chest from the adrenaline, a loud growl resonated through the trees.

Rey woke up gasping for air, her hair damp with sweat. A few sunbeams made its way through the curtains, illuminating the small bedroom. Books, such as _Herbs and Potions_ , _Rules of Witchcraft_ and _The Most Powerful Wizards of All Time and What You Can Learn from Them_ , were all around: filling every surface of her writing table and drawer, pilling over the floor and even the latest one ( _Reaching the Force: The Beginners Guide_ ) was open on top of her.

She looked at the clock in the writing table - 7:50 a.m. - and immediately forgot the reason of waking up so late. _Holy shit_! Her classes started in 10 minutes and she was positive she would miss at least the first period. If only Master Luke would taught her the basics of the magic force, she wouldn’t be so late.

“Stop being so impatient! You need first find the balance and learn how to control your emotions”, she mumbled to herself, mimicking her master’s voice. Yeah, apparently it would _never_ be a good time.

Resigned (ok, not so resigned), she showered, got her bag and headed to the kitchen to grab some food and run to Coruscant University. Rey rolled her eyes: even thought she had great friends there, it felt like a total waste of time. After all, all she wanted was to be a great witch (and period), but living in a world ruled by mortals meant she had to adapt and find a way of paying the bills.

She only stopped mentally complaining when she got sight of the bottle of orange juice and a sandwich, both wrapped with a note:

_Hey, Rey, I guess you won’t come to first class (won’t miss much haha), but just in case you’re late, here’s a little breakfast for you! See ya, xoxo, Rose._

Oh, she absolutely didn’t deserve Rose! Feeling a little lighter (and loved), Rey grabbed the breakfast and ran to class.

——

Generally speaking, the morning was a bit of a rush. Rey managed to attend her second class - _Modern_ _Ethic and Politics_ , with the (wonderful) Professor Organa -, and as soon as the bell rang, she ran to her part time job.

So far it had been quite an ordinary day at Bewitchtea. The rush of the afternoon passed and now, without those numerous orders to attend, Rey could breath. She sighed and looked around to the place she’s been working on and helping out since she was a little kid. Even though it wasn’t a Starbucks, it was quite a lovely coffee shop.

Two small wooden tables were positioned outside and other three inside, right behind the glass showcase, where the name of the establishment was written in the same font as the Bewitched series, including the little star on the letter “i”. Rey was positive someday they would be sued for that, but Maz, her foster mother and owner of the Bewitchtea, was a _huge_ fan of the show and rolled her eyes at the argument. The walls inside the coffee shop were painted in a sky blue, with little stars all around and frames of delicate illustrations related to the witch world, like cauldrons, brooms and witch hats. Besides that, there were the wooden counter where Rey prepared the orders with a glass display with some pastries that varied according the day (and Maz’s mood).

It was indeed quite a lovely place, and even though Rey had no intentions to spend her life working there, she knew Maz had expectations… She sighed. How ironical was it that she was a witch working in a coffee shop themed with witch stuff? Worse: that her witchcraft-enthusiastic-foster-mom knew nothing about the real existence of a magical world? Well, it could be worse. She could be like Harry Potter, trapped with terrible uncles and having no choice but fulfill the destiny of saving the world. Uh, great, but no thanks.

If In a silly nightmare where she was chased she already lost it, she was positive that facing someone as powerful as Voldemort would freak the hell out of her. At the same time, Harry Potter was fiction (as far as she knew) and that man chasing her felt pretty much real.

Oh, great… she was doing great avoiding the nightmare. Of course her treacherous mind would bring it up. Thanks, brain.

Rey puffed as she leaned on the counter. That damn nightmare always haunted her, but she had to admit, though, that the last one was more vivid than ever and... a little more detailed? As if it was a prophecy or something. She shivered. The last thing she needed was a future where she was hunted by an evil mind reader warlock.

"Hey, can I get a tea?", asked a small voice, pulling Rey out of her thoughts. It was a blond girl with curly hair, probably around sixteen years old. She always came by with her friend, another girl around the same age, dark skinned and short haired. Rey called them mentally the sunflower girls. Don't ask why.

"Sure, which one do you want?”, Rey asked, straightening her three buns and smiling, pleased to be out of her reverie.

"Hm... the usual", the blond sighed, looking around and appearing really upset and a bit anxious.

"Okay, I'll bring it to you in a minute!", said the barista. While she was preparing the order - earl grey with a little bit of milk and no sugar - she heard the door opening and the other girl arriving. She greeted the blond awkwardly and sat with her. Apparently a little fight happened over there, and neither of them knew where to start - but they obviously wanted to make up.

A little help couldn't hurt, right? Rey smiled mischievously, finished preparing both teas (she knew the other sunflower girl needed one too), got two special make up cookies and went over their table.

"Hey, girls! Here are the teas: earl grey with a little bit of milk, no sugar and lemon ginger with a teaspoon of honey, right?", they smiled weakly. "I also brought two cookies as a little treat and don’t worry: they're on the house!"

"Oh, there's no need", they said, surprised and a little embarrassed. Before they could argue any longer, Rey insisted and they gave up. She smiled and winked at the girls, turning to clean the table next to them and returning to wash the dishes behind the counter.

Even though the sunflower girls were a little distant, she heard their muffled voices and, right after that, giggles that soon turned to laughs. When she peaked, both cookies were already finished. Rey smiled triumphant, not realizing someone had sat on the counter behind and was staring jokingly at her.

"What this time? Make up cookies?”, a deep and unnervingly ironic voice asked. "You know that's unethical, right? I mean, it could even be considered black magic.”

_Benjamin Solo_ . Urgh, of _course_ the day wasn’t going to end so smoothly.

“What?!”, she turned to face the man. He was holding a judging expression and his arms were crossed on top of the counter, evidencing the many muscles of his forearms - he worked out, so what? The messy black hair framed his strong features: deep eyes, pointed nose and full lips that worked strangely good together. The scar that cut through the right side of his face and his black t-shirt gave him a look of bad news - like _great_ bad news. She shook her head. Definitely _not_ great news... Even though his expression was serious, Rey could tell he was kidding by the playful look in his dark brown eyes.

Wow, it was suddenly hot in here, right?

"Sorry, Solo, but this is anything _but_ black magic!”, Rey whispered angry, approaching the counter, feeling her cheeks burn. "I just help people by giving them a little nudge to do what they _want_ to. Never making them do what I want them to.”

“Yeah, sure! That doesn’t interfere in your business at all, am I right?”, the edges of his mouth turned up and one of his eyebrows raised. His voice was pure sarcasm. “People love it here _just_ because of the wonderful artesanal tea, the pastries and amazing cookies.”

The burning feeling on her face made her absolutely positive she was bright red. But if it was because of anger or embarrassment she didn’t know.

“Well, thank you for the many compliments”, she deviated from his gaze and started cleaning the counter furiously - how did it get so dirty?!

“Ben, stop tormenting my girl!”, said a black little woman that showed up from the back store. She was little in all senses: thin and measuring five foot at most, she used giant glasses that made her look even smaller. Her fierce personality and imposing voice made up for her lack of size, though. Rey smiled ironically at him.

Ben wasn't intimidated by the woman, and returned the smile to the girl in front of him. “Sorry, Maz, I was just giving Rey here a few advices on how to run the business”, the wide glare Rey gave made him chuckle.

“Really? Maybe you should start minding your _own_ business, boy”, Maz said in a fake angry voice. It was the closest to anger she could be at Ben… She just wasn't capable at being entirely mad with the man: it was just too cute how he was obviously into Rey. Even though both moron kids never seemed to get things done.

“And _you_ , Rey”, the girl stopped giggling. "I’ll assume you’re not handing free food for the customers, otherwise I’m going to discount it from your salary!”. Rey opened and closed her mouth, speechless at the sassiness of her foster mom.

Before she could even defend herself, though, the woman headed to the exit of the shop and just before closing the door behind her, said: "Oh, and both of you: stop flirting and do something useful. The pantry is small, but big enough for you two”.

If Rey knew a disappearing spell, she would _definitely_ use it right now. Instead, she felt her eyes grow bigger than ever and her face and neck burn like hell. Some of the clients that heard the absurd nonsense Maz said chuckled discreetly. She didn’t know what to do and stood there, with her mouth opened and getting redder by the second.

Ben hold his laugh and looked at Rey. There was something addicting in seeing those red cheeks and bewildered eyes on her face. Of course he knew Maz was just teasing, the age gap between them was considerable and, well, he was positive he wasn’t Rey’s type. Maybe that cocky Dameron boy, but anyway… He couldn’t care less about her love life.

He thought it was safer to just ignore the awkward situation and cleared his throat. “Hey, could you get me an espresso?”. Rey looked at him as if she couldn't understand it. “An espresso”, he repeated. No answer… “Coffee?”.

"Oh, yeah”, she answered and started to make it, robotically. What the hell was Maz thinking? It was pure humiliation and above all in front of the customers! She wasn’t flirting with Solo!! He was too - desirable, sexy, funny, clever? - STUPID!

With the thought, the coffee slipped from her hand and she cursed, waiting for disaster. But it just stood there, hanging in the air as if her hand was still holding it. She gasped and soon took it, giving Ben a reprimand look and putting it in front of him. “Are you crazy?”, she whispered nervous, checking her surroundings.

"You’re welcome”, he said, giving her a side smile. “Is this one free from your black magic?"

She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help smile a bit in relief. She was much better at bickering with Ben than at being awkward.

“If you’re insinuating I only have faithful customers because of my ridiculous _little_ help, then why do _you_ keep coming back?”, she smiled defiantly at him. “After all, even if I put some spell in your coffee you’d notice that, right? You’re a wizard and a powerful one, I suppose by your long and exhaustive experience…”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Are you calling me old?”, Rey giggled and turned her back to him, returning to the sink where the dish was half cleaned. He stood up, leaving his coffee untouched and entered the staff area, leaning his back on the sink beside her. "I may be ten years older than you, but I guarantee that doesn’t mean much if you’re a skilled and hard working witch”, Ben looked down at her. She wasn’t that red anymore, but a shade of pink still remained on her cheeks.

The doorbell rang again. The man that entered held a motorcycle helmet wearing a brown and orange leather jacket. His wavy brown hair was disheveled, with a single lock standing out charmingly on his forehead. Along with these, he carried a confident smile and rebel attitude. Yeah, there was no doubt that Poe Dameron was the cause of many broken hearts.

His arrival by itself already provoked quite different reactions on the coffee shop at the same time: the sunflowers girls giggled, Rey lit up a big smile and Ben crossed his arms, frowning.

“Hey, Poe!”, greeted Rey, ignoring Ben’s suddenly tense posture and turning back to the counter.

“Rey-rey, how you doin’? What’s up, Ben?”, Poe smiled broadly and sat where Ben was before, putting his helmet on top of the counter. Ben mumbled a hello and remained leaning on the sink. “Wow, glad I’ve found you two here!”

“Why? Something happened? Besides, do you want something? Coffee, tea, cookies…?”, the girl offered, but already knew the answer. Poe was one of those people always in a mission, running up and down and never having time for a coffee. Okay, never is extreme, but it was hard.

“Nah, thanks! Actually, I’m here to ask some things”, he lowered his tone. “Have you felt something different lately? Like an uneven balance on the magic force or something?”

Dameron wasn’t a wizard, but he knew everything about the magical world, as well as fought constantly against the dark forces. Even though the existence of witches was a secret, it was rather common that mortals knew about it and participated somehow, some by choice, some because were caught up in the middle of it. Rey didn’t exactly knew which one was Poe’s case, but she knew he embraced the light side as a life mission.

“Hm… No, actually”, Rey said hesitantly, looking at Ben. At some point during her reverie he moved, now standing by her side and staring warily at Dameron.

“Why do you ask that, Dameron?”, Ben’s voice was deep and suspicious. Poe sighed, looking Ben with worried eyes.

“A Blood Moon is coming, as you two probably already know, and apparently today they confirmed it’s due to Halloween”, he got a newspaper from inside his jacket and opened in the counter. The headline _Spooky: Blood Moon is going to haunt this year's Halloween!_ stood out.

Rey looked at Ben, that returned her gaze with a wary stare. This wasn’t _just_ bad news. This was absolutely horrible news.

She was right after all: things _always_ could get worse.


	2. Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Here's the second chapter!
> 
> So so so sorry the delay... The end of 2018 was crazy and I had some problems figuring out the best way to write this chapter. But I'm always thinking about it and writing a few scenes here and there, even though they're not exactly in a chronological order. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy! And I'll try to post with more often :) 
> 
> (If you want to, follow me on tumblr or Twitter: spacebuns12)

“You're not focusing”, said a raspy voice bearing impatience. The man sighed. “It is not about closing your eyes and letting your thoughts and emotions run free, Rey. You know that. I’ve seen you reach the force a few times already, you should be able to do better than this”.

Rey opened her eyes and couldn’t avoid rolling them at the scolding of the man sitting crossed legged in front of her. He was older, around sixty, and had a chin-length blond grayish hair and a full beard. His eyes were closed and his expression was challenging. “Don't you roll your eyes at me, you know I can sense it”, he said, finally opening his piercing blue eyes. “What is troubling you?”

A breeze rushed through both apprentice and wizard, bringing the smell of freshly cut grass as well as the sound of birds singing in the distance and the river’s running water. They were sitting on a narrow meadow on the forest, close to Master Luke’s house, but far enough so it couldn’t be seen from there. Only nature surrounded them, thriving on the last days of summer, something that, according to Luke, helped concentrating.

It made sense he lived there. Luke Skywalker could be considered some kind of a hermit: living on his own in the middle of nowhere, sometimes in a bad mood and always seemingly superior and unaffected by mundane events such as the Blood Moon. Maybe the explanation was that, as a great wizard of recent Wizardry History, he was constantly harassed by admirers and, well, also threatened by enemies. Regardless of the real reason for his isolation, Rey couldn’t imagine him out of the boundaries of the  hidden property.

“There’s a Blood Moon due to Halloween, Master Luke. Poe warned me and-“, she stopped herself before saying Ben’s name. She didn’t know why, but Luke and Ben definitely didn’t get along very well. “Well, and I got worried about it. I’ve done some research and found that Blood Moons are potentially dangerous, I don’t know if you heard it was coming, specially on Halloween-"

“Rey”, the wizard stopped her. “Yes, I've heard. And there’s no reason to panic, it is a quite natural phenomenon that happens from time to time”, he shrugged.

“Okay, but I read in a history book that it can unbalance the force and favor the dark side… There is even a calendar with big events of the Wizard World that happened exactly during a Blood Moon!”, the girl reached for her bag that was a few feet apart and got one copy of the _Natural Phenomenons and Their Effects: Blood Moon Special Edition,_ opening on a marked page. “One of the worst Blood Moons happened when Darth Vader killed all those wizardry apprentices!”

At the sigh of the book, Luke raised one eyebrow. “Where did you get that book?”, when Rey’s cheeks reddened and she mumbled something like ‘online’, the man scoffed. “Nevermind, but I’d prefer you’d ask me before doing questionable researches. There’s a lot of crappy witchcraft material around… The good books are rare and even I have only few of them. _Which_ , by the way, are still out of your league”, the master rushed before the girl could ask him to borrow them. She sighed.

“I'm really sorry, Master Luke, but I got anxious and couldn’t wait until I met you to ask, and I know you’re not exactly fond of technology. I thought the time could be more useful if I did some findings on my own”, she forced a smile. He couldn’t exactly blame her. Their trainings were only at Sundays on Luke’s house - which, by the way, was a good hour away from the city. Besides, even though he had a cellphone, he didn’t use it at all.

“Patience is a virtue, Rey. One that you really need to develop”, he lectured the girl, that struggled the urge to roll her eyes again. “Anyway, as I said, the Blood Moon is a natural phenomenon. It happens during a full eclipse, when the moon is entirely on the Earth's shadow. At the same time, light from Earth's sunrises and sunsets end up on the surface of the moon. As the light waves are stretched out, they look red, and when the moon is enlightened by it, it turns red too-“, he explained calmly.

“But it affects our world, doesn’t it?”, he gave Rey a scolding look for the interruption, that made her shut up.

“Yes, it does. The Blood Moon is an event known for ages for concentrating an incredible amount of power. Power with good intentions and bad ones", he sighed. "Usually, these eclipses are the stage for historical events in the witchcraft world... Most of them not really good ones, as the one you mentioned.”

“Hm… Most of them? Do you mean there are good events?”, she asked hesitant.

“Well, maybe not exactly good like fairytale ones, with rainbows and fireworks, but with turnouts that brought balance once again to the world”, his eyes seemed to drift off to some distant memory, far from Rey’s reach. Luke shook his head slightly and resumed his explanation: “As the first movement of the phenomenon is the eclipse, the absence of direct light causes vulnerability on the Earth, which could empower the darkness at first. It is not a rule, though”, he finished.

“How can we prepare for one? I don’t exactly feel ready to face anything or even a warlock of some kind and I really think it’s time for me to start doing some practical magic and- “, Luke laughed and Rey stopped talking.

“Did you brought this up only to ask this?”, he looked at her skeptically, raising one eyebrow.

“No!”, the girl defended herself. “Of course not, I mean I want to evolve on the training, but I trust you. I just thought that I could be more useful if I knew a few more practical things…”, she looked down, a bit embarrassed.

The wizard sighed. “I know. It’s just not time yet…”, he smiled faintly to her. "But you’re progressing, Rey. At the same time, you have some work to do on your meditation, ok? The focus is essential for us to reach the practical training. Can I count on you to put some effort on that?”

She smiled hopeful and nodded.

—————

Saturdays were pretty shitty days. There’s no rush for anything and if you’re someone with deadlines and obligations, well, it only served to worsen anxiety and boredom. After all, having fun meant not doing your obligations, so it was better to be in the middle: doing nothing but thinking about it in a vain hope to be suddenly inspired. Was it even possible to be bored _and_ anxious at the same time? Apparently yes, concluded Ben.

“Daydreaming, Solo?”, asked Maz from behind the counter. Ben scoffed. The coffee shop was the perfect escape for an unproductive day: it had coffee (obviously), nice snacks and, well, he couldn’t deny the amusement of messing up with Rey. Without realizing, the man let out a little smile.

“Are you even listening to me, son?”, Maz had that preposterous smug on her face as she usually did before saying some nonsense about him and Rey. Time to _try_ to dodge a bullet.

“Actually, I’m marveling at how you are much better at the coffee business than your apprentice”, he said with a side smile as the little woman bursted into laughing.

“Oh, boy, there’s no doubt you have the Solo charm in your veins! And the naughtiness too, if I may say. Sounded just like your old man”, Maz served his coffee, ignoring the way the man flinched at the comparison. “But let me tell you something that your father didn’t take long to learn, boy: I’m no fool! I know you prefer my girl Rey so you can piss her off and see those cute red cheeks of hers”, she raised her eyebrows and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Was it too weird to admit that he liked her red cheeks? “Speaking of the devil!”

Ben turned on his stall and saw Rey coming inside. The girl looked like crap. She was wearing trainers, shorts and a hoodie that covered most of her tired eyes. Without even looking up, she dropped on the stall next to him and leaned her arms and head on the counter.

“Hot chocolate?”, Maz asked her. The hooded figure nodded and the little woman started making the drink. She looked at Ben and started complaining. “That's how she returns from those practices with Luke, always exhausted and not speaking much-“. There was a grumble coming from the body beside him. “Anyway, I think I’ll have a conversation with Luke, he’s killing my little girl.”

Ben couldn’t exactly deny it. He didn’t even sensed Rey arriving, which was a first. Her aura used to be so bright and powerful he could usually feel it pulsing from a considerable distance. It was still there - the shiny energy - but definitely weaker.

He knew exactly how she felt right now. Even though it’d been what felt like a lifetime, being trained by Luke was... quite remarkable. The exhaustion and repetitive exercises almost drove him mad. And, by the weak vibrations from her force, he would have guessed Luke demanded a lot on a mental practice. He could almost taste the headache. His lips curled down in compassion.

“She’ll survive”, Ben said with a hint of humor after analyzing the girl.

Rey popped her head from her arms and looked at him in surprise. Apparently someone was too busy thinking about her own desperation and didn’t notice her surroundings. She squeezed her eyes as if given up arguing.

“Thinking hurts”, she said before lying her head on her arms again.

Ben chuckled looking at Maz and she rolled her eyes. After a few minutes, she served a big mug filled with hot chocolate and added one chocolate muffin and a donut to the girl’s order.

“C’mon! Eat up, kid”, the older woman demanded.

The girl looked like a starving puppy, at first rising her head slowly and as she smelled and saw the food attacked without thinking twice. She gave Ben a side smile and as if saying 'wait and see’. "Make sure she keeps eating, will you? I'll go check on some muffins", asked Maz, heading to the back store. He nodded.

“So, how was today?”, he asked as if nothing happened.

The girl almost jumped from her seat, clearly forgetting about the six foot tall man by her side. "Well, _this_ conversation”, she said, "doesn't really concern you. But I’m in a good mood, so feel grateful”, he scoffed.

"I'm honored", Ben said rolling his eyes. She knew how to be a brat sometimes.

“Well, it was basically meditation, meditation and more meditation”, Rey started talking as if coming to life, her mouth full of muffin. She sipped the hot chocolate and gave another bite. “I mean, I get the importance of meditating and doing mental practices, but Luke’s been teaching me this for over a year and I feel like I should know a little bit more than just tricks from cheap books”.

“Wait, you don’t know any defensive spells and stuff?”, Ben asked surprised.

“As I was saying, it’s not like I know nothing… I’m pretty good at some potions and tried practicing some spells from books”.

“Which books exactly?”, he looked at her in suspicion. It was almost impossible to find good witchcraft books, unless you knew where to look. And Rey definitely didn’t seem like she knew.

The confirmation to his suspicions came right away, with a shade of pink covering the girls cheeks. “ _Rules of Witchcraft_?”, she said hesitantly and he couldn’t help the utter disdain on his face. That was by far the worst series of books about witchcraft, completely outdated and sensationalist.

“Lord, that’s even worse than I thought!”, he said in disbelief. That was definitely a new level of recklessness from Luke, at least concerning the fact that any magic creature could sense Rey was a witch and, well, attack her or something and her only practical knowledge was some crappy best seller book. She was in desperate need of a teacher. A real teacher, apparently.

“Well, I’m sorry I’m not _your_ level of magic, ok? I’m open to suggestions though, Benjamin Solo, greater wizard of all times!”, she said ironically. Her anger and frustration were visible as she bit the donut furiously. Ben smiled. She was cute even eating like a starving piglet.

“I can be your teacher”, he said plainly not taking his eyes off the girl next to him, that almost choked with the proposal.

“I already have a teacher, thank you very much. The best one, by the way”, she looked at him in defiance and shock. He understood: himself was shocked with the idea. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have other things to do - which by the way was the reason he went to the Bewitchtea at the first place.

Another responsibility wasn’t in his plans. Besides, it would complicate too much what didn’t need more complication. He already agreed with himself - and swore to other _many_ people - that the boundary between he and Rey wouldn't be transposed. But teaching her was more than transposing that boundary: it was blowing it up and setting fire to the remains. It was absurdly wrong and it could go ways he may not be able to control.

Ben shook his shoulders. The hell with it.

“I don’t agree with your second statement, but you can have two teachers. And Luke doesn’t have to know”, Ben raised an eyebrow. Actually, it was better this way.

Rey rolled her eyes.

“Look, you’re always wondering what I know and it’s obvious that you have a lot of untamed power”, he said slowly as if considering his deal in a more detailed way. "I know you have classes with Luke, but as far as you told me, his classes are more theoretical than practical. That’s quite boring and not helpful in a dangerous situation, specially with the Blood Moon coming”, he sipped his coffee as if it wasn’t lying untouched in the counter for the last twenty minutes and stood up, leaving a few dollars on the counter. "I could help you with the practical part, at least self defense and stuff like that”, Rey opened her mouth to complain but he raised his hand in a stop. “Just think about it, ok?"

Then, she watched the man give her a side smile and leave the coffee shop. What the hell was that?

“Hm, any interesting offer from Ben?”, a playful voice came from behind the counter. Rey turned to Maz, feeling her cheeks burn.

“Definitely _not_!”, she blurted the words and yanked her bag from the counter, marching fast to the way out and ignoring the laughter of her foster mother.

The apartment she shared with Rose wasn’t far away from the Bewitchtea. Around twenty minutes walking, something Rey always enjoyed doing. It was a good moment to mentally organize her priorities when she arrived: laundry, homework, studying.

Today, though, it took her a little over ten minutes.

When Rey arrived at her front door, she almost crumbled. The trainings with Luke were always mentally and physically exhausting, demanding a lot of concentration and being still for _hours_ (if not the whole day) _._ She wished so bad to know a few spells…

The ones she knew she learned from a beginner’s guide and they were quite useless. Unless having to concentrate for almost half an hour to know how the weather was outside was better than just turning on the phone or actually stepping outside.

Ugh, Ben’s proposal was tempting, she had to admit, but she knew it was _not_ an option. Not because he wouldn’t be a good teacher… She had no idea about that. Besides everything she held against him (his arrogance specially), she knew he'd probably be a good teacher and would be able to help her a lot. But there was something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It was like knowing once she agreed there was no turning back. Turning back from what she didn’t exactly know. Rey took a deep breath.

Luke knew what he was doing and if it wasn’t her time, it wasn’t. Period.

Laughs caught the girl by surprise. It was when she realized she was standing in the front door for a while. Precious minutes she could be eating (yes, more because she still was feeling hungry) or sleeping or, apparently, laughing. She opened the apartment’s door to find her best friends arguing about something.

“Shut up, Rose! It’s totally not true, you’re tripping!”, a good looking dark skinned man shouted from the couch, throwing a pillow at the asian girl that was laughing hysterically. He had an annoyed expression and a shade of red on his cheeks, his small eyes frowning and full lips pressed together.

“What the hell is going on?”, Rey asked already smiling. Seeing those two goofies somehow made her tiredness go away like it wasn’t even there seconds ago (the pizza box lying on the floor helped too). Finn mumbled a hello without taking his eyes off of the other girl, that was sitting on the floor across the ridiculously small living room, with her back on the wall.

Indeed, for two college girls living in a good location of the city, the small apartment was a pretty good deal. Each of them had a bedroom, one shared bathroom, the ridiculously small living room that fitted one small couch and two stools for the counter of the almost nonexistent kitchen (with an oven and a refrigerator, thank you very much). It was nearly claustrophobic, but it was theirs (if you consider renting a kind of ownership) and they absolutely loved it.

She closed the door and joined them, sitting on the floor with her back on the couch Finn was on top of and grabbed a slice of pizza. Apparently Rose was just recovering from the laughter, her face less red and her playful eyes gaining an evil touch. “Rey agrees with me, don’t you, Rey?”, she accused her roommate, her spiky hair loosening from her ponytail only adding evilness to the mischievous look in her eyes.

“I don’t even know what you are talking about, but am hoping is something very brainless because Luke totally toasted mine today”, Rey shrugged.

“Really? How was your day?”, Finn suddenly became interested on the subject, even though he knew most of her trainings were boring - at least for non magical people. The boy was definitely one of those people who were caught in the middle of the magic mess. Even though he thought everything was freaking insane, somehow he just couldn’t let it go. If it was for conviction or for _someone_ …

“Don't even try to change subjects, Finn. We all know Rey’s trainings are dull - no offense, Rey-“, Rose started talking before the witch could begin.

“None taken”, Rey answered smiling.

For Rose, well, she was also non magical, but chose to be part of it once she found out about the wizardry world with her older sister, Paige. Later she discovered her amazing ability of fixing things, most of them being magical artifacts, but also some of Rey’s potions that sometimes weren’t crafted with the required precision.

“What we were discussing is much more interesting and brainless, just as you requested”, Rose continued whilst Finn snorted, giving up on trying to make the girl shut up. “What we want to know is: don’t you think Finn and Poe are the ultimate couple?”, she squeaked, getting another pillow on the face, followed by a “we are _not_ a couple!” from Finn and answered with a “but you wish so and so do we!”.

Rey laughed hard. Finn was super protective and emotionally open with his friends, but when it came to admitting deeper feelings, the boy was a total mess. Like, what was so difficult about admitting to have feelings for someone? Specially if that someone was Poe-charming-funny-cleaver-friendly-Dameron?

“Absolutely”, a hard pillow crashed on Rey’s head. “Ouch! Where are you taking all of those pillows from?”, she complained and crawled to sit next to her roommate and escape Finn’s fury. “Finn, you and Poe are meant to be together! Just the way you guys look at each other it’s obvious! I totally ship you guys."

“Oh, how about the time that _you_ , Finn, wore Poe’s jacket for whatever reason for like a month and then he _gave_ it to you?”, Rose said.

“Hey! It was a _week_! And he borrowed me because when I came back from my vacation my luggage got lost!”, he tried defending himself, barely being heard by the two girls, that found the situation quite amusing.

“Oh my _god_ , how about when Poe saw him wearing it?”, asked Rey, turning serious and mimicking Poe’s voice saying to Rose: “That’s my jacket!”

Rose immediately played Finn’s part and made a spooked face, pretending she was taking off an imaginary jacket.

Rey continued: “No no no no, keep it. It suits you”, she said, biting her lower lip in the most exaggerated way and looking Rose up and down like she was the most delicious slice of pizza in the whole world. Both girls cracked up, holding their stomachs and crying from laughter.

Finn looked murderous. “I bought him another jacket, ok? Besides, we are good friends”, he rolled his eyes, waiting for the duo stop laughing.

“O-okay, Finn, you don’t want to admit for now, it’s fine”, Rey said, recovering. “But you need to deal better with your feelings, it’s okay to be attracted by someone, specially if he obviously wants you too”. Finn gave her a skeptical look.

“Really? Said the girl I-want-to-fuck-Ben-Solo-but-will-pretend-not”, he said. Rey felt her cheeks burn and made a horror looking face.

"Oh my god, that’s absurd! He’s a jerk! I-”, she said, being interrupted.

“Uh, but there’s no denying the sexual tension”, Rose sung the last part, receiving an angry look from the witch. “Sorry, I just say the truth, not taking sides here.”

“It's not that absurd, is it Rey? He’s hot, and a lot of people would agree on that, he’s charming on his mysterious slash dangerous way, and I bet he would kill to be between your legs on the Bewitchtea's counter”, the girl opened her mouth, speechless. “Better: I bet he already imagined all kinds of positions involving you, him and _that_ counter”, he said victorious.

“Wow, Finn, you are quite turned on today, huh?”, said Rose laughing. “Well, Rey, I cannot say I disagree with Finn, even though he was very, hm, direct. You and Ben need to figure out how to handle the thing that exists between you two. I honestly don’t know if there are deeper feelings, since you love to complain about him and he about you, but there is an undeniable sexual tension. Like, a suffocating one”, she said hesitantly.

Rey looked outrageous. One thing was to make fun of a perfect couple and another was to corner her like that. Ben was _fine_ \- more than fine - but that was it. He was much older than her, he was arrogant, know-it-all and extremely annoying. How could they encourage her to have something with someone that drove her crazy? She wouldn't have classes with him, least of all _make out_ with him!

“This is not funny!”, Rey complained watching both friends laugh at her shock. “Obviously you two are out of your minds and I won’t be here to listen these absurds!”, she threatened to stand up, only to be stopped by Rose.

“Okay, okay! I think we’ve messed enough with each other already”, she reached for another slice of pizza, followed by a clearly unsatisfied Finn (that was enjoying too much the revenge) and an angry Rey. “So, Luke was rough today, huh? Did he started the practical trainings with you?”

Rey scoffed. “No, and apparently he’s not going to do that anytime soon… He didn’t give a shit about the Blood Moon”, the girl said, biting the pizza.

“Shit, really? But it would be useful for you to be able to defend yourself, right?”, asked Finn with a puzzled expression. “I mean, Poe told me-“, the girls hummed suggestively and Finn cleaned his throat, glaring at them. “As I was saying, apparently Leia is trying to map the odds of happening something this night with, like, great precision, asking the help of astronomers to predict all the details of the sky as well as -"

“Tell him that! I’m too unstable apparently”, Rey interrupted, rolling her eyes.

“Wait, Rey, but isn’t it, like, dangerous? A Blood Moon, specially on Halloween can attract a serious amount of power and, well, bad intentions”, Rose said and Rey shrugged. “Can’t you ask someone else’s help? Someone who could at least teach you how to defend yourself?”

It was like something clicked and suddenly Rose and Finn looked at each other smiling suggestively. When Rey realized what they were thinking, she shook her head. There was no fucking way she was going to hear this nonsense for the second time in less than 2 hours. “ _NO_! No, no, no, no! Don’t you even say it!”

“But Rey, he’s the only experienced wizard we know of besides Luke!”, Finn argued, serious expression on his face. “Look, we were kidding, ok? Yes, we do ship you and Ben, but I admit I exaggerated a bit on the examples”, Rey squeezed her eyes at Finn. “Maybe a lot”, he rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t you ask his help?”, asked a serious Rose.

Well, maybe they were concerned about her. Rey bit her lip and seriously considered telling her friends about Ben’s idea. Maybe they could help her decide. Maybe… Rose’s expression suddenly became wicked. That was definitely a bad sign.

“I mean, he could really help you. Like, lesson number one: how to defend yourself from the dark forces inside a bed”, she bursted out laughing, followed by Finn.

“Lesson number two: how to channel your inner force on top of the counter”, he continued.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!”, Rey grabbed two pillows that were lying nearby and tossed it on both of them. “And what’s _your_ problem with that counter?”

As Rose and Finn continued to laugh hysterically, Rey felt her cheeks burn. Maybe that was what she was so afraid of. She had to admit Ben was hot and attractive. _Maybe_ , just maybe, she already had pictured them making out. On top of that counter. More than once. Not that she would _ever_ admit it to anyone.

Fuck.

She _definitely_ couldn't be taught by him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?
> 
> Don't wanna tell any spoilers but I'm excited for chapter 3 :P


	3. Coincidences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for receiving so well this fic!! I'm really thrilled (like mini-happy-dance kind of thrill) with each kudo and comment! Please keep feeding me with them!!!  
> Also endless thanks and love to my beta and bff @Gaia_707!! <3
> 
> Oh, and one more thing: Are you ready? Are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? 
> 
> Well... you'd better.

_Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet_

_Machine guns ready to go_

It was almost midnight when Rey locked the Bewitchtea and headed home. Even though it has been almost a week since Ben's proposal, her mind was still buzzing with the idea. She started imagining herself owning her magic, without insecurities or fear. A smile took her lips as she felt the tips of her fingers itching with the thought. One thing was certain: her life would surely be more simple and easy. No more dishes or clothes to wash, no bedroom to clean, no more arriving late everywhere...

With her head lost in thoughts, she did the path to her home in no hurry. Queen was resonating through her earphones, her steps matching the pace of the song as she hummed the lyrics, not really worried about the time. She was tired and all she wanted was to have a little fun imagining a tempting future that probably wouldn't happen before arriving home and having more duties to take care of.

_Hey, I'm gonna get you too_

_Another one bites the dust_

Even though the girl was completely unaware, the streets were strangely quiet for a Friday night. The only sounds were her rhythmic walking, singing and snapping fingers. No sign of cars or motorbikes, least of all people. The only lighting on the street was from light poles: all the stores were closed and the few houses and buildings were dark… Which would be ok if she lived in the suburb, and not in a big - and very crowded - city such as Coruscant.

A shiver ran down her spine and she stopped. Something just wasn't right. Rey looked around for some creep spying on her, but she saw no one. Was it better to be alone or with someone - anyone, even a creep - right now? One block ahead, a light pole began to blink. After two or three times, it went off completely. The girl felt her heart increase the pacing.

_And another one gone, and another one gone_

Freddie Mercury was singing loudly on her ear when she decided to press the stop button. The silence was deep and she fought the urge of turning it on again and pretending nothing was happening. She could swear her breathing could be heard from across the street. Other three light poles about thirty feet ahead begun to blink and she stepped back. Behind them, there was only a deep darkness. When they all went out and two more started to fade, she turned the other way.

Rey gasped when she saw the same was happening right behind her. She was surrounded by whatever was causing it and she had no escape _or_ defenses. Panic started to creep in fast.

WHY? Why didn’t Luke teach her _any_ self defense spell? Oh, right, apparently she wasn’t ready. Well, whatever that shit around her was, it was probably happy with it. Soon she felt her hands trembling as the darkness continued to approach.

 _Focus, Rey_ , she thought, imagining the voice of her teacher. Ok, the worst thing to do was to panic. Besides, who said there was indeed something behind the pitch black? Maybe it was just… electricity? One more lamp out. Fuck it, at least she could try to figure out what it was.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating (one of the things - if not the _only_ one - she could do with magic. Thanks, Luke). At last, the pounding of her heart and her heavy breathing were all she could hear.

Another lamp out.

What was the number one lesson Luke always taught her? Walls up. Ok, she could do that. The girl sensed her inner force embracing her and reinforced the walls to her mind the best she could, given the circumstances. But she could do better than just build a fragile fortress around her mind. She knew how to do better.

She took another deep breath. Lesson number two: reach the force beyond her. Two more poles were gone. Ok, she just needed to calm down a little. Focus on the breathing, on the air in and out. Come on! Air in and out, in and out, in, out.

Then, she felt it: the earth beneath the concrete, the subway crossing the land miles away, the animals, the water, the life behind everything. In a second, the world seemed to be frozen, the pulse of life striking the girl as never before. But as she concentrated to capture the sounds close to her, Rey jumped.

The silence she thought surrounded her revealed itself a deafening sound. Loud winches and what seemed like millions of wings beating took her over and she couldn’t help but to press her hands against her head.

What the hell was that? But worse: what would happen when the darkness took over? Would these… these creatures attack her? Why? Another pole went out and she could feel through the force that there was only one remaining, the one right behind her.

She staggered back without opening her eyes. The sound was just too loud and she couldn’t think straight anymore. What was the third lesson? She felt her walls shake with the growing dizziness. Balance! Or, in other words, being as peaceful as she could. Which, by the way, seemed pretty impossible at the moment.

In Luke's lessons the three main steps seemed pretty ok to follow. She did them countless times and even though the third was a bit more complicated, she nailed it almost every time. But apparently Luke forgot to prepare her for this. Balance was everything she was _not_ capable of reaching.

Basically, all she could feel was panic. Panic that the only lamp remaining went out. Panic that those things got to her. Panic because she couldn’t even think about anything that may save her. Balance was nonexistent, no matter how hard she tried to focus and reach it. There were only her and the thousands of winches, louder and louder.

The remaining lightning pole started to blink. The winches got even higher and the wings, closer. But there was something else. Behind all the screaming and deafening sound, a warmth and a roar of some sort appeared distant. She felt her legs give in as she kneeled on the ground. The roar got closer and closer, so did the heat. That was it.

The end.

“REY!”, a distant voice screamed in the middle of the noise.

She opened her eyes and saw a huge black figure in front of her. The deep voice mumbled a few words she didn't understand and a huge fire wave bursted into the almost complete darkness. Rey gasped: what seemed like thousands of creatures screamed and vanished almost immediately.

In a blink of an eye, the place looked normal again. The light poles went back on, silence reigned all of a sudden in the desert street. No monsters, no darkness, no fire. Her heart was pounding fast and she felt a cold sweat covering her skin. What the hell just happened?

“Rey, look at me”, the deep voice demanded, and she realized it had been calling her for a while.

She focused her eyes on the voice and instantly dove into the deepest brown she had ever seen. Benjamin Solo was there, his face inches from hers. His eyes were serious, looking deep into hers, his eyebrows, frowned.

“Rey, are you hurt?”, he asked slowly as if he was trying to control his tone. His eyes had a wild glow, she noted, very different from the sarcastic one she was used to. Ben’s hands were cupping her face and when she didn’t answer, he stroke her left cheek lightly with his thumb. “Are you hurt?”, he repeated.

“No”, she whispered faintly.

Relieve spread on his eyes, softening his expression as he let out the breath he was holding. “Good”, he said more to himself than to her. “Can you stand up?”

Rey nodded and he helped her up, his hands supporting her forearm. His grip was firm and she knew it was safe. _He_ was safety, as strange as it may sound. Suddenly, all the panic from seconds ago vanished and relief took place. She felt herself melting in his embrace, getting close to unconsciousness as her defensive walls crumbled around her.

"No, no, no! Rey, stay with me, ok?", he asked and the girl nodded once more, her eyes slightly open. She was weak and she didn't know how long it would take until she just blacked out.

Ben guided her to the car and helped her sit on the passenger seat. Less than a minute later, he was driving fast, leaving that street and whatever that attack was behind. He took a deep breath and looked at the girl beside him, her eyes closing slowly.

"Rey, I need you to focus, ok?", he said as she mumbled, complaining. "I know you want to sleep, but you can't right now. You are too vulnerable... When we get to a safe place, I swear I'll let you sleep for a whole week if you want to", his eyes wandered from the street ahead and the girl.

Her magic signature was weak and there was absolutely no defenses around her. Right now, she was an open book: all her fears, thoughts, feelings were practically lying there. He'd just have to reach out a bit to get a little peek. Which as tempting as it sounded (and for some reason it was _really_ tempting), he couldn't. Not when she was so defenseless. And that was definitely a bad sign, because that attack, whatever it was, seemed too dangerous and too random… Dark creatures didn't just stumble on anyone on the street, specially to just drain their force with no physical attack.

Rey hummed.

"What exactly happened?", Ben asked, trying to keep his voice calm. At the same time, he mentally mapped any treats surrounding them.

“I dunno… Was comin' home, lamps out and all…”, the girl answered lazily.

He barely heard her. Not only she would be asleep within seconds, the driving and scanning potential threats demanded almost all of his attention. Nothing. Nothing in a radius of at least one mile could be considered abnormal. No darkness creatures, little demons or whatever.

Warlocks on the other hand would be more tricky to sense. A powerful one would have no problems hiding their magic… Ok, _maybe_ he was being paranoid. Coincidences happen all the time, after all.

Suddenly, Rey gasped, as if she got punched on her stomach, jumping from the lazy position on the passenger seat to holding her head with both hands and covering her eyes. Yeah, a hell of a coincidence.

"What is it?", he asked with a worried voice edging rage. He was almost positive that was an articulated attack, but couldn't risk helping her out in the middle of nowhere. Her sleepiness seemed to have disappeared and the expression on her face left no doubt: she was in pain. Ben sunk his foot on the accelerator as his impatience to arrive at their destiny extinguished.

"Headache! Worse…It's like… Urgh!", she moaned. "Like something is squishing my brain”, tears run freely through her face. The girl couldn't understand less of what was going on or _why_.

“Hold on!”, he demanded, turning the wheel.

The car made a close turn and roared as it sped up down the street. Her pain was blinding and she didn’t know how long she could take. She was already mentally and physically exhausted from the adrenaline rush from what, seconds ago? Maintaining herself awake in so much pain and trying to fight it somehow was pretty much Mission: Impossible. And she absolutely was not Tom Cruise.

“Rey, don’t give in!”, she heard Ben’s voice fading in the distance as darkness grew closer and closer. She tried to answer but an anesthetic feeling took over and her strength melted with it.

In the darkness, she realized the pain and noises were gone. She sensed the smell of wet grass filling her lungs and when she opened her eyes, Ben and the car and whatever all of that was disappeared like magic. Instead, the forest from her nightmares surrounded her with the moonlight enlightening its foliage. This time, though, she wasn't running.

For the first time on that dreamish reality, she saw one point of light: a small fire pit a few meters ahead in a meadow and a group of people around it. She approached them silently and carefully hid behind a tree.

Closer, she distinguished red hooded figures stood in a circle amidst the fire and, appearing to be leading them, two black figures stood tall with their backs to Rey. By their bodies, they looked like two men: one younger and the other older, like an ancient or something.

She almost missed the two people kneeling in front of the men. They were talking nervously, as if explaining or apologizing for something, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. Tension and impatience were palpable and she was immediately worried for them. Even though they weren't wearing any hoods, their faces were hard to distinguish because of the dim light. They wore ordinary clothes, like jeans and sweaters, what seemed totally out of place in the middle of the hooded group.

Suddenly, one of the black figures raised his hand and the voices stopped at once. Silence reigned: not even the sounds of the forest could be heard. At the same time, Rey held her breath, afraid to be discovered by that strangely dangerous group. Her heart started to pound fast and a sense of déjà vu settled in. Had she already been there before?

It was when one of the kneeled figures pointed straight at her direction. The older man said something to the younger and suddenly Rey knew they found her. Not seconds after that, the black hooded man turned to her direction and the girl felt her feet turn to run.

 _Rey_.

In a short time she was out of breath. Her heart was pounding faster and faster in her chest, her strength being directly fed by terror and fear. She had to escape, but she knew she couldn't. How many times had she tried? Thousands, maybe?

He always got to her. Always.

At the same time, she couldn't stop. What would happen if she did? Death was pretty much certain. She had to escape, she had to find somewhere safe. But where? Who? She couldn't count on Luke, he lived miles away, it was too far. Maz, Rose and Finn wouldn't be able to help her, she would end up killing them with her.

She needed someone else.

 _Rey_.

She heard footsteps behind, catching up with her. They were heavy, fast, precise. She couldn't give in, he asked her not to!

Her lungs burned from the lack of air, her heart ached with the effort and her feet started to fail her. No, she couldn't stop! She had to go on, had to fight, to run, to be safe, to not give in! But who was it? Who did she promised it to?

_Rey._

A large hand grasped her wrist and she screamed as she turned to the black hooded man. He pulled her in and held her wrist firmly. He kept saying words she couldn't understand and she felt his burning gaze on her face. Her eyes lifted to see him and that's when she met those eyes and a large scar crossing the known face inches from her. His left hand raised and held her face as the other kept the grip on her wrist.

"Rey, open your eyes!", he demanded worried.

The girl gasped as she came back from unconsciousness. The first thing she noted was that she didn't recognize where she was. It was a large bedroom, for what she could say. All of the walls were painted in dark blue and one of them had a bookshelf completely full. Even though the blue was strong, it was balanced with a good amount of white: pictures hanging on the wall, the ceiling, curtains, carpet, writing desk and sheets of the bed, where she was lying. If that wasn't decorated by some designer, well, the one who did it had some talent and money, because everything had that expensive look.

Long story short: it definitely wasn't her micro apartment.

Even though she was a little dizzy from what felt like years of sleeping and desperately wanted to know if all of what she remembered was true, she had to know where the hell she was. Rey stood up slowly and soon spotted her bag on the writing desk chair. She got her phone and checked if there was some text. Nothing. Ok, that was… weird? It wasn't so late: 9 a.m….

The house (or whatever that was) was quiet and she looked around more closely. A frame was lying on the desk and she immediately recognize the woman on it: a much younger Professor Leia Organa. The woman had a different hairstyle from the one Rey was used to: instead of the elaborated braided hairstyle, her hair was down. In her arms, trying to escape her kiss, was a little boy, messy black hair, pointed ears and a moody expression. The girl hold a laugh, after all, who would have known little Ben was absolutely adorable?

But did that meant… Was she on Leia’s house? Or… Ben’s? By the decoration the first option was more likely. But maybe Ben had a quite peculiar classical taste hidden inside that bad boy carcass. That was definitely the best option.

Agitated voices brought her back to reality. They seemed to be close and she found herself following them out of the room and downstairs, where the mufflings became a loud and clear discussion.

"I just think it's a coincidence you of all people were in the right time at the right place to save the day", Rey heard Luke's voice in an accusatory tone. For someone that preaches balance so much, it sounded very out of it.

"Believe in whatever you want, but she wouldn't be as nearly affected as she was if you teached her something useful!", that was definitely Ben's enraged voice. A shiver came down her spine: it was true. He _saved_ her. At least if what she remembered was true and not some illusion from her mind… She could distinguish someone saying 'Ben, calm down'.

"You don't have any sayings about how I deal with my students!", Luke said in a really dark tone, a way she never heard him speak before. A reprimand that she didn't understand came from what seemed to be a fourth person in the room. "Besides, seems like we have company", Luke's voice softened considerably. "Rey?"

The girl cursed mentally. Great, it wouldn't be awkward _at all_.

When she stepped into the living room, she faced not only Leia in her unwavering royal aura,  holding a comforting look in her eyes, but also Poe, Rose and Finn looking her with concerned and relieved eyes at the same time. They looked like someone who just woke up with breaking news but didn't really got time to understand it all. If she had to guess, they probably just knew the important thing was her well being and, well, she seemed ok. In front of them, Luke held a controlled calm expression and a reassuring smile. As for Ben, he had his back to her, and turned as soon as she murmured a timid 'hey', his hair was wilder than ever, and his eyes worried with deep bags under them.

In less than a minute, the girl cursed mentally again. She had a feeling it would be easier to face those monsters from last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First action scene you never forget. Had some troubling figuring how to make it in a clear, visual way.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!
> 
> Please give kudos, comment, etc!!!


	4. Yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks SO MUCH for reading! I absolutely love your comments!! Wherever I am, when I see there's an email from AO3 with a new comment I totally freak out (I also worry that is someone trashing me and these delusions I call fanfics, I admit), but turns out you guys are amazing and like it. So, yeah: thank you big time. <3
> 
> Endless thanks to my beta @Gaia_707, you're the beeest!!
> 
> Least but not last: I'm trying my best to post once a month, and was super happy because I thought I delayed a week from that this time... but no, it was another month. Urgh, sorry and trying to work a little faster on the next one!

The girl looked at the group nervously. Why the hell was everybody here? Besides,  _ where _ was 'here'?

Well, she could tell it wasn't Luke's, because, duh, she's been in his house. Poe lived in a flat in the center of the city (which she doubted looked like a considerable big house styled in classic decor) and Finn was trying to leave the university housing but had no money or roommates available for that. The only ones left were Ben and Leia, and Ben definitely didn't look like an I-love-white-furniture-and-pastel-tones type of person. Yeah, this was definitely Leia’s “humble” home. At the same time, she always saw Ben with books and he seemed like the dark colors kind of guy. 

Oh, my. The bedroom she woke up on was Ben's?! Did he lived with his mom? She flushed. Why was everybody still looking at her? Gosh, she just wanted to know any disappearing spell.

“Rey, can you tell us exactly what happened yesterday?”, Luke asked, taking a step on her direction. Rey nodded, remembering the cause of the fuss and looked down at the ground. Wow, even the carpet was fancy.

“I-I was walking home after closing the Bewitchtea. It was around midnight, I guess. I felt like something was off… the street was too silent. And then the street lights begun to turn off… I tried to concentrate, reaching the force to sense what was behind all that. When I did, I heard”, she stopped, feeling a chill run down her spine. All eyes were on her, worried expectantly. “I heard the most horrible sound, like loud winches and wings, even though I couldn’t see anything behind that darkness", she hold herself, remembering the feeling of helplessness and despair. "It was only inches from getting to me when… When...", she raised her eyes and met Ben's gaze. How could she have never noticed those comforting deep brown eyes before?

"Yes?", encouraged Luke, furrowing his eyebrows and ending her reverie.

"When Ben saved me", she said, without taking her eyes off Ben's. Wow. By saying those words, it really hit her. Benjamin Solo saved her life. The annoying and hot Benjamin Solo. Saved. Her. She was  _ alive _ because of him.

Her stare burned into his as Ben saw them get wider with the realization of what happened the night before. She stood on the living room entrance holding herself, seeming defenseless and tired. Her hair was loose and messy and she wore some old sweatpants from Leia. The rage from the discussion with Luke begun to vanish.

The old man snorted at Rey's answer.  _ So much for peace _ , Ben thought, feeling that anger creeping back in. Before he could start the argument all over again, though, the girl's voice raised.

"Look, I don't know what's the problem between you two, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him! No meditations could have saved me from what was out there", Rey blurted, taking a step forward in defiance.

"I'll overlook the way you are talking to me, Rey", Luke said in an imposing masterly way. "I understand you are confused and scared, but we already talked about it. You are  _ not _ ready for practical magic. Look at the way you react to things: no balance, pure impulsiveness and feelings! Giving you access to magic is irresponsible and I won't make that same mistake twice!".

"Twice?", her voice faded a bit as a dizziness threatened to blur her vision. Luke's cold stare became deeply sad. What was that all about? Suddenly, Rey felt gentle hands around her arms, holding her firmly.

"Enough!", Leia intervened before anyone else could speak up. "No more discussions for today, otherwise I'll suggest you to leave. Rey's already been through a lot to be in the middle of this ridiculous feud", Leia reprimanded Luke and Ben as she gave support to the girl. "As for you three", she looked at the open mouthed Finn, Rose and Poe, "do something useful and help me take Rey to the kitchen to have a proper breakfast."

As Leia helped Rey to the kitchen, the young witch heard muffled voices from the men and the front door slamming. What the hell was she thinking talking to her master like that? If it wasn't for Leia holding her, she would have fainted or something at the thought.

At the same time… Should she accept everything Luke says just because he's her master?

"Peace, at last!", the older woman said as Rey sat down at the dinner table. "How are you feeling, darling?", she asked with those motherly eyes.

"Better, Profess-, ahn, Leia", Rey corrected herself. Leia hated to be called Professor, especially by the students she knew outside college and had a closer relationship with. The woman smiled at her as she fetched a plate full of pancakes that seemed to have magically materialised themselves. "Thank you so much for everything, but I don't think I can stay much longer", she said, watching her friends help her get what seemed like an unending amount of food. 

"Oh, honey, I don't think you are going anywhere today. You are still too weak and we better keep an eye on you at least until night falls", she said, sitting beside her.

“But today is Saturday, isn’t it? And what time is it? I have to go to Luke’s and Maz will expect me at the shop right after”, Rey said, instantly starting to search for her phone. Where was it?

“Your phone is at the nightstand in the guests room. And don’t worry, I’ve already talked to Maz, I said you arrived yesterday feeling sick and that you didn’t go to Luke's. Oh, and that you would call or text her saying if you were better”, Rose interrupted, answering all of the questions that were starting to pop up inside Rey’s mind.

“Oh”, it was quite impressive that Rose always knew what she needed. In these moments she was positive of why Maz had let her move with Rose without complaining. “Thanks, Rose”, she said, smiling. “Thanks everyone, actually. I’m so sorry you all came here just for this… It wasn’t a big deal-“

“Of course it was, Rey!”, Poe interrupted as he shut the fridge and laid butter and honey on the table. “What we need to think now, though, is why that happened and how we can avoid such things! We can make turns on protecting you, I’m sure the rest of us won’t mind…”

“What?”, Rey asked, horrified by the idea of being followed everywhere by her friends and other people - possibly strangers. They didn’t know if those things were chasing her or just happened to bump into her. Maybe they were just… Taking a stroll around the block?

“Poe, later”, Leia casted him a warning glance before he could speak again. Sometimes Poe just didn’t know when to stop being an enthusiastic commander. “Darling, eat something, you’ll feel better. I’ve heard you are a fan of pancakes, right?”, the woman asked Rey, putting a plate with at least four chocolate chip pancakes in front of her.

So far, she didn’t realize how hungry she was. It made sense: she didn’t have dinner the night before and she felt  _ weak. _ Didn’t took long for her to attack the pancakes, followed by her three friends. No much later, Finn, in an effortless move, changed the subject, sending Rey a comforting ‘I got you’ look.

The breakfast went smoothly and soon even Poe got lost in the middle of the conversation and the jokes exchanged between all five of them. Rey was feeling much better, but her friend's agitation wasn't exactly suiting her. The opportunity to vanish appeared during a discussion - brought by Finn - about whether or not Leia should go easy on the three of them during classes. Something that obviously wasn’t going to happen.

“Don't try being all clever on me, Mr. Johnson”, Leia repressed Finn, her eyes with a lighthearted glow. “One thing are your tests, the other is the work outside college. No easy way, ok?”

“But we are fighting the dark forces here! Being a undergrad alone isn’t easy, sum that to fighting evil!”, Finn’s dramatic voice faded as Rey held a laugh at the ridiculous argument and sneaked through an open door. She carefully closed it and was almost out of breath when she turned to see her surroundings.

Rey has never seen such a beautiful garden before. Flowers and vivid green bushes circled the house and grew wilder as they approached the back, where they met a forest full of pine trees. In the garden, she could distinguish yellow delicate camomiles, mixing with dark belladonna's buttons and lavender flowers. Among them, endless flowers and herbs she recognized from books and various she never saw before.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing the powerful feeling of nature invade her. It felt fresh, like recently cut grass, but it also was sweet and bitter, like she never sensed before. The scent of the delicate flowers were mixed with powerful and maybe poisonous herbs in an addicting bittersweet feeling.

When she took a second deep breath, though, she felt something change. The bitterness grew stronger and a feeling she couldn’t quite put her finger on overwhelmed her. Anger. Resentment. Sadness. Deep sadness.

Rey opened her eyes and noticed something she hadn't before: a large silhouette sitting on the grass, just before the beginning of the forest. From a distance, Ben, whom she thought had left the place a while ago, looked calm. At the same time, she could feel, almost see, the many feelings surrounding him. He probably got so lost in them he didn’t realized his walls came down at once, almost like a punch in Rey’s stomach.

She begun approaching him cautiously, the power he was exhaling growing stronger at every step. Even on Rey’s wildest dreams - and she had a few - she ever felt something so strong. It was suffocating, but at the same time, magnetic. One wrong step made her break a branch, and suddenly all those feelings vanished, his walls back up. In other words: he knew she was there.

In retrospect, she didn’t exactly thought about what she would do if she got to him. Actually, on second thought, she felt quite creepy doing it. Was it her or it was suddenly very awkward?  _ Urgh, so much for peace _ , she thought.

“Weird seeing you out of the coffee shop”, Rey said, deciding to break the ice and start a neutral subject. She sat beside him, crossed her legs and kept her eyes on the grass beneath.

Ben snorted.

“Weird seeing you with your loose hair…  _ Buns _ ”, he said. She looked at him at once with the mention of the hated nickname, finding a provocative smile on his tired face. 

“Argh, no way! I thought you forgot about that”, she complained, lightly hitting him on the arm. Her cheeks got almost immediately red at the intimacy of the move. Maybe she went too far? What was she thinking? 'Hey, saved my life, best budds now!'.

“Hm, it actually sounds like you miss it”, he said, leaning a bit in her direction and Rey squeezed her eyes at the provocation.

“I don’t”, she said seriously. She  _ really _ hated that nickname and the last thing she wanted was to encourage him to call her that again. "I’m just cutting you a slack because of the… recent events.”

“Recent events?”, Ben asked as if he really didn’t have a clue. “Such as?"

“You know."

“You'll have to say it”, he dared her with a half smile.

“Urgh, you really are insufferable!”, Rey said as the man held an expectant fake look. What a jerk. She looked down, feeling her cheeks burning. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you for…” she took a deep breath. "For saving my life, for real. I-I don’t know what could have happened if you weren’t there.”

She stared right into his eyes as he held her gaze with the same intensity.

“You would have died”, he stated bluntly and huffed. “I’m still not sure about what those were… I mean, I have a pretty good idea, but it sounds absurd. I’ll have to dig a little bit more to see…”, his eyes drifted away.

“But do you know if there are special conditions for them to show up like that? Like, if I was at the bad place at the bad time?”

“That's the problem: those creatures don’t usually appear unless summoned. I can’t tell if it was a coincidence or something else.”

“Do you think someone wanted that attack to happen? But why? It was too risky, wasn’t it?”, she asked him, surprised. That was definitely a possibility she was  _ not _ working on. Why the hell would someone want to attack her?

“Hey, calm down”, he laid a hand on her knee. The girl tried to ignore the shivers all over, focusing on what he was saying. “I’m not going to lie to you, Rey, and say everything is fine. The attack on the street was bizarre, but the second one, when you were already in my car: that is the one that is worrying me. By your description it sounded like a mind reading kind of thing”, Ben took a deep breath. “I truly don’t know what it was, but we need to work on all possibilities.”

Her heart was racing. Suddenly, all the fear and nervousness were multiplied by a thousand and she felt out of breath. What if a powerful warlock was trying to kill her? She already heard of a few names… the most famous one was Darth Vader, but he died so many years ago… In more recent years there was this one she heard her friends commenting about. Kylo something, but apparently he vanished for good. Maybe he’s back?

Actually, the main problem was: why her?

“Why me? I mean, I’m nobody! I’m just a useless witch who can’t even control one of the four elements!”, the witch said in a high pitched voice, bearing desperation. Ben’s hand (that for some reason still laid on her knee) squeezed her gently. She took a deep breath, restoring a little bit of the calm.

"First: don’t underestimate your own powers and value. Believe me, you’re much more than you dream of”, before she could interrupt him, he continued. “Second: it doesn’t have to be like that, you know. I can teach you how to use your power.”

“Yeah…”, internally she fought a mental battle. From the discussion earlier, it was clear that Luke was definitely not giving in. Ben’s theories were scary, but made a lot of sense. At the same time, she knew she couldn’t believe everything someone told her and she had to admit she believed almost blindly in Ben. Somehow she knew he wanted desperately to help her. As in: the night before was quite a proof of that… “About that I have a few questions.”

“Shoot”, he said, fighting hard not to let a smile show. For someone who didn’t want to know about the offer before, Rey seemed very inclined right now.

“What exactly would you teach me?”

“I would begin showing you how to channel your feelings and how to control your power. In a situation like yesterday, you could have had a chance to attack if you let out all of those emotions, you know”, he didn’t wait for an answer to continue. “After that, how to properly defend yourself and connect to the four elements. Last but not least, offensive spells and attack strategies. Is this class summary good enough for you, Ms. Kanata?”

Rey rolled her eyes at the provocation, trying to hide the excitement that grew inside of her with the possibility of knowing all of that. 

“Hm, sounds ok”, she said with disdain. “What about potions?”

“I could teach you some of that, but I think there’s someone else that could be far better at it”, he said, pointing his head to the house.

“Leia?!”

“Exactly. Besides, I bet she put something on those pancakes to calm you and restore your energy. Seems like it’s almost recovered, huh?”

Indeed, Rey started feeling much better during breakfast. Oh my, was this a common thing among witches? Wait, Leia was a witch?

“No, but she has magic in her blood”, Ben answered her dumbfounded look. “It's funny: you and her have this in common, minding people’s business and doing magic through food. Completely unethical, in my opinion”, he judged and Rey snorted.

“Ok, no potions… but how can I know that you can teach me all that? Besides, what do you get by teaching me? I don’t have money, if that’s what you’re expecting.”

“Let’s say I’m in debt with the universe and helping you would even some things. About the teaching part, give me your hands”, he demanded as he moved to sit in front of her.

“What-“

“I said give me your hands, Rey”, his said firmly and she obeyed. His hands held her wrists up and a shiver ran through her at his touch. At least he acted like he didn’t noted that. “Ok, now close your eyes and try to focus.”

Rey did as he said, a bit relieved that she wouldn’t have to face him. It was mortifying to have such an intense reaction to someone that was just touching her. Maybe it was already a demonstration? Maybe he was testing her-

“I know I’m a lot for you to handle, but try to calm down”, he said in a playful tone. That’s when she opened her eyes, trying to pull her arms back, but he held them on place.

“What?! Look, you’re so full of yourself, but-“

If Ben wasn’t holding her, she was positive she would have tumbled backwards. It was like someone had turned on a speaker with the loudest beat ever in front of her. The wave that struck her was raw power, trembling every cell in her being, leaving her breathless.

Rey’s eyes widened as she stared at the man in front of her.

“What…?”, she whispered, her heart racing at the happening of seconds ago.

“That was you. The power that runs through your veins, Rey. I just channeled the beginning of your annoyance towards yourself”, he explained, letting her wrists go.

“How?!”, she asked in astonishment.

“Well, you already had the free sample”, he said, standing up. “To know how I did it and to learn how to do it yourself is up to you. What do you say?”, Ben asked offering his hand to help her up, but also as an acceptance gesture.

Rey bit her lip, trying to list the reasons why it wasn’t a good idea. The problem was: she couldn’t find a single one. It was clear that Luke wasn’t going to teach her anything practical. She was in danger or at least went through a live or die situation the night before. Ben saved her. She  _ trusted _ him. 

She took a deep breath and looked at the hand in front of her. That was it. Luke was definitely going to murder her.

“Yes”, she said and, without thinking twice, she held his hand. He pulled her at once, holding her steady after she got to her feet, his eyes burning into hers, closer than he’s ever been.

“It’s settled then…  _ apprentice _ ”, he said in a low husky voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the games begin *evil laugh*
> 
> Hope you like it! Pleeease don't forget to comment and leave kudos, I live for it (and write too, because i'm a crazy attention seeker)
> 
> PS: any similarity with aladdin in the last scene is a result of an entire month rewatching the live action and hearing (and screaming) the songs endlessly.


End file.
